Former Ivy League admissions officers. Harvard PhDs. Nationally recognized counselors. Our team is made up of some of the most trusted and experienced professionals in college admissions — each one deeply committed to helping your student stand out and succeed.
With decades of experience inside the most selective institutions in the world — including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, and Duke — our counselors bring unmatched expertise and empathy to every advising relationship.
Whether your student is applying to the Ivy League, top STEM programs, liberal arts colleges, or competitive state schools, they’ll be guided by someone who knows exactly how admissions decisions are made — because they’ve made them.
We don’t just polish essays. We challenge students to think deeply, lead boldly, and tell their stories with clarity and confidence. The result? Applications that feel strategic, personal, and impossible to ignore.
Director of College Counseling
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
College Counselor
Financial Aid Expert
Senior Counselor
Senior Counselor
Art Portfolio Reviewer
Senior Counselor
Director of College Counseling | Former Associate Director of Admission, Colorado College | Application Reader, Johns Hopkins SAIS
At Colorado College, Megan served as Associate Director of Admission, leading strategy and reviewing thousands of high-stakes applications. She was also selected by Johns Hopkins University to read for their globally renowned School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Megan is one of the few U.S.-based counselors with deep insight into international curricula (IB, A-level, etc.) and has helped students from around the world gain admission to top U.S. and U.K. universities.
Megan has completed 13 marathons — including Boston and Beijing — and was the first American to finish the Great Wall of China Half Marathon.
Devery brings unmatched admissions expertise to the table. As a former Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard and application reader for UC Berkeley, she has evaluated thousands of applications and helped students gain admission to the most selective colleges in the country.
Devery earned her degrees in Romance Languages and Social Anthropology from Harvard, and later completed her MBA at UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business on a prestigious Consortium Fellowship. She’s also served as a counselor at one of the nation’s top independent high schools, and has supported students through organizations like College Track, SEO Scholars, and IDEA Public Schools.
Devery lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner and two dogs. A South Texas native and proud Latina, she’s constantly on the hunt for the best tacos in Northern California (and has strong opinions).
Senior Counselor | Former Admission Coordinator, Harvard University
A Harvard graduate and former Harvard Admission Coordinator, Benito has spent two decades helping students gain admission to the world’s most selective institutions — including Ivy League schools, top STEM programs, and elite liberal arts colleges.
Benito’s background spans both top-tier admissions and high-performance roles at Google across Sales, HR, and engEDU. His international advising experience includes students from the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America — each with their own aspirations, strengths, and challenges.
Benito has traveled to 45 countries and lived on five continents — including Seoul, Cape Town, Oahu, and Buenos Aires. Fluent in Spanish and conversational in Korean and Japanese, he believes great storytelling is shaped by how we experience the world — a philosophy that infuses every aspect of his advising.
Dr. Sergey’s students have been accepted to Stanford, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, NYU, UC Berkeley, UChicago, and more — with applications that reflect both intellectual depth and personal authenticity.
Dr. Sergey earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard, where he also completed a secondary field in Film & Media Studies. During his time there, he served as Head Teaching Fellow and faculty across multiple departments — earning multiple awards for excellence in teaching and advising.
Dr. Sergey is an avid cinephile who tracks down rare 35mm screenings, explores New York’s contemporary art scene, and enjoys multilingual conversations that connect people and cultures.
Senior Counselor | Former Admissions Reader, Duke Fuqua & Ohio State University
Markita brings a rare combination of admissions insight, strategic communications expertise, and deep student support experience. She’s helped students gain admission to Columbia, Duke, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Howard, and Ohio State, among others — with a proven track record of helping first-generation and underrepresented students break through.
Markita has reviewed applications at both The Ohio State University and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business — giving her unique perspective across educational pathways. She also held student success leadership roles at Carnegie Mellon and NC State, where she supported high-achieving students from limited-resource backgrounds.
Markita plays piano (eight years and counting!), loves live music, and is always on the hunt for new food spots in town.
Misa has supported thousands of students through the college admissions process, with successful admits to Stanford, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, and more. She offers a rare dual perspective — having evaluated applications on the admissions side and coached students on the counseling side across elite schools and programs.
Formerly Assistant Director of Admission at Harvey Mudd College — one of the top STEM institutions in the U.S. — Misa is especially skilled at helping STEM-driven students position themselves as multidimensional candidates with both technical rigor and human depth.
Misa is an avid traveler always on the hunt for great food, tranquil waters, and world-class duty-free shopping.
Peggy brings unmatched experience as a middle school head, college counselor, and director of studies at top California independent schools. She’s served on middle and high school admissions committees and conducted alumni interviews at the college level — offering students and families rare insight into the full admissions pipeline.
Peggy holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from UCLA and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University. Her career spans decades of working directly with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and boards — giving her an intuitive sense of how to build strategy, trust, and alignment throughout the admissions process.
Peggy’s children had her as their middle school principal — and somehow, they all still talk! She lives with her husband, a lifelong boarding school teacher, on a high school campus where home and school blend seamlessly.
Though officially starting his counseling career in 2024, Jason has already helped over 15 students earn admission to Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Georgia Tech, Michigan, UC Berkeley, and UCLA — building on years of informal advising that led to early admits at Harvard, Penn, and Brown.
A 2024 graduate of Duke University in Computer Science and Statistics, Jason was also admitted to Columbia Business School through their competitive deferred MBA cohort. He previously worked as a software engineer at Amazon and AWS, and now blends that analytical rigor with a human-centered approach to admissions coaching.
Jason has traveled to six of the seven continents — with Antarctica next on his list.
Financial Aid Expert | 20+ Years in Private Education | Specialist in FAFSA, CSS Profile & Aid Strategy
Melissa brings more than 20 years of experience in financial aid advising within the private education sector. Known for her calm clarity and strategic insight, she has guided countless students and families through the complexities of the financial aid process. With a background in psychology and deep expertise in Title IV funding, compliance, and student support, Melissa is a bridge between institutional policy and real-world family needs.
Melissa takes a holistic and empowering approach to financial aid counseling. She works closely with families to demystify FAFSA and CSS Profile submissions, evaluate need- and merit-based opportunities, and develop customized financial strategies that align with students’ academic ambitions. Her goal: to ensure every student can pursue higher education with confidence and a plan that supports both access and sustainability.
Melissa combines a love of adventure, live sports, and all things Disney — always ready to find joy in both the magical and the unexpected.
Senior Counselor | Former Admissions Officer, Princeton University | Barnard & Columbia Alumna
Kirsten’s admissions journey began at Princeton University, where she evaluated applications from across the globe with a focus on New York City. Over the past seven years, she has reviewed thousands of applications and guided ambitious students toward acceptances at Ivy League, Ivy+, and other top 30 institutions. Her career spans sectors as diverse as Wall Street, humanitarian nonprofits, journalism, and higher education — giving her a uniquely well-rounded perspective on storytelling, achievement, and authenticity in college admissions.
With professional roots in communications and branding, Kirsten brings a storyteller’s instinct to every advising relationship. She helps students capture the essence of who they are — and what they’ve accomplished — in a narrative that is both compelling and instantly understood by admissions officers. Her mantra: lean into the truth, and be excellent at what makes you you.
Kirsten once navigated all of Eastern Europe in the late 1990s using her high school and college German — proving that in an emergency, the brain remembers what really matters.
Senior Counselor | University Counselor, Lycée International | Brown & Columbia Alumna
Catherine brings over a decade of university counseling experience from the American Section of the Lycée International — France’s oldest and most prestigious public school, founded by Eisenhower in 1952. Since 2011, she has helped students gain admission to top universities across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and continental Europe. With degrees from Brown University and Columbia University, she combines Ivy League insight with an internationalist’s perspective on postsecondary planning.
Whether guiding students toward Stanford, Sciences Po, or a small liberal arts college in Canada, Catherine is deeply committed to helping each student define what they want from their university experience. Her advising style is both grounded and aspirational: she pushes students to explore tailored programs aligned with their goals while ensuring they see higher education as the beginning of their journey, not the end.
Catherine’s favorite part of the day? Quiet mornings walking her dog in the woods — but don’t tell her family that.
Art Portfolio Reviewer | Graphic Designer & Illustrator | Comics Editor & Arts Grant Recipient
Jake is a practicing graphic designer, illustrator, and editor with a dual academic background in fine arts and digital design. With an Associate Degree in Graphic Design from Seattle Central Creative Academy and a BFA in Printmaking and Sculpture, he brings a hybrid perspective to art portfolio development. His work as Editor in Chief of Scarfff Comics Newspaper and his success as a freelance creative have earned him grants from both the Washington State Arts Commission and the City of Seattle.
Jake’s approach to portfolio review is all about alignment and authenticity. He helps students craft portfolios that not only showcase their strongest technical and conceptual pieces, but also communicate a unified artistic identity. Whether applying to fine arts, design, or media programs, students benefit from his insight into institutional expectations and his ability to shape raw talent into compelling, purpose-driven portfolios.
Jake’s artistic inspirations include manga legend Akira Toriyama — the creative mind behind Dragon Ball.
Senior Counselor | Former Graduate Head of Admissions, Stanford University
Kelly brings a rare 360° view of higher education, with nearly 20 years of experience guiding students into the top 100 U.S. colleges and graduate programs. Her students include future artists, lawyers, designers, doctors, and entrepreneurs, each with a distinct story, brought to life through Kelly’s strategic, student-centered approach.
Kelly has served as Graduate Head of Admissions at Stanford, Admissions Officer and Enrollment Manager at California College of the Arts, Academic Advisor at the University of San Francisco, and a high school college counselor. She’s evaluated thousands of applications across majors and formats — including BFA, MFA, JD, MBA, and dual-degree programs — and has advised students from over 100 countries.
Kelly lived in Italy for over a decade and still teaches Italian for fun. A lifelong language lover, she’s studied everything from Farsi to French — and currently splits her time between the mainland and Hawaii, where she’s teaching herself ukulele and the Hawaiian language while exploring the ocean and painting coastal landscapes.
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